If your involved in baseball coaching, please do me a favor. Observe your weaker hitters. I'll make you a "gentleman's bet" that at least half of them have this baseball hitting problem. This makes my top three list of common baseball hitting problems and it may very possibly be number one. If you have one of these, you better get rid of it as of yesterday. Low and away pitches will not only lower your batting average but will also drive you crazy. Fortunately, there's a very easy "fix."

A "quick hip" is when the front hip opens a fraction of a second early. It is a very common baseball hitting problem and a very serious one for many hitters at all levels of play. The swing itself should force the front hip open. If the hip opens a fraction of a second too quick, it forces your front side to open too early and this is a recipe for disaster for a baseball player at any level of play. I don't care whether it's T-ball or M.L.B.

If you have what is referred to as a "quick hip," please forgive my bluntness but you will have no chance of being a successful baseball hitter. Only on an inside pitch, can you get away with opening the front hip a little bit early.

Three Major Problems Occur If You Have A Quick Hip:

1. You will not see the ball well. Your head will go along for the ride with your "quick hip" and you will be looking at the ball out of the corners of your eyes when the moment of truth arrives and you attempt to actually hit the ball. It is a a medical fact that you can't see an object as well when looking out of the corners of your eyes. Baseball hitting is tough enough when you do see the baseball well.

2. Your power will be lost. You will be leaning toward third base if you are a right-handed hitter or toward first base if you are a left-handed hitter. That is not where the baseball hitting is taking place. The baseball hitting is taking place in front of you, not to the left or right of you.

3. Your plate coverage will be very poor. The only pitch you'll be able to hit with any success at all is the inside pitch and low and away pitches will cause many baseball hitting problems for you.

I wonder how much our younger players who are struggling at the plate would improve if they made this fairly simple adjustment. And there is a very good chance that if they are struggling they may very well have a "quick hip." Keeping the front hip closed is one of the best baseball tips on hitting you will ever hear. How common is the baseball hitting problem of having a "quick hip"?

You can check it out for yourself. When watching a game live in person or on TV, at any level of play, observe the weaker hitters. The ones who are batting .220, .230 or .240. Keep an eye on their front hip. In almost all cases, the front hip will be opening too early. On the other side of the coin, you can check out the better hitters. They will be keeping their front hip closed!

It doesn't matter if it's T-ball or the professional ranks, almost all the weaker hitters have this very common hitting problem. Baseball hitting does not take place to your left or to your right. It takes place right in front of you. You can be your own judge when you observe the weaker players and watch their front hip. I rest my case.